Car Rigging in 2 Minutes: Blender Tutorial – Part 1

By E. Gachoki
Updated August 24, 2023

Video tutorial

What you need

Blender version 2.8 or higher
A blend car model with wheels separated from the body
Blender Rigacar addon. Available at GitHub in the following link https://github.com/digicreatures/rigacar/releases/download/v6.0/rigacar.v6.0.zip (Thanks to David Gayerie of digicreatures.net for this amazing addon)
Install Rigacar addon to Blender

The rigging process

1. Ensure the front of your car model is facing –Y (negative Y) direction in the viewport (see image below)

**Car model facing-Y direction in the blender 3D view port**

2. Apply ‘Location’, ‘Rotation’, and ‘Scale’ transformations

How to apply all object transforms in blender — ***How to apply all object transforms in Blender***

Parent each wheel to its tire or rim so it can be one unit each
Parent all body parts (DO NOT INCLUDE THE WHEELS AND BRAKE CALLIPERS) to the main body frame or an empty object.
The origins of each control object should be at the center. Use the image below for reference

*All car parts origin should be at the center of the respective part*

6. Rename the wheels and body control objects as follows to let the add-on discover the structure of your model:

Front left wheel to DEF-Wheel.Ft.L
Front right wheel to DEF-Wheel.Ft.R
Rear left wheel to DEF-Wheel.Bk.L
Rear right wheel to DEF-Wheel.Bk.R
Body parent or control object rename to DEF-Body
Front right brake caliper to DEF-WheelBrake.Ft.R
Front left brake caliper to DEF-WheelBrake.Ft.L
Rear right brake caliper to DEF-WheelBrake.Bk.R
Rear left brake caliper to DEF-WheelBrake.Bk.L

7. Select all objects of your car model by clicking ‘A’ on your keyboard. Then click ‘Shift+A’,. In the drop-down go to ‘Armature’ then select ‘Car (deformation rig)’. The add-on will do the rest.

8. Select the new armature. Click ‘N’ on your keyboard to reveal the properties panel and go down to the ‘Rigacar’ tab. Click on ‘Generate’. Your car is now rigged.

***How to generate the rig from armature using rigacar addon***

In the next tutorial, you will learn how to animate your newly-rigged car. Click here to go to the animation tutorial.

If you have any questions, put them in the comment section below. Request for project assistance from one of our professional animators here. Check out more animation and visual effects tutorials here.